1300-50;Middle Englishscof; origin uncertain, but compare Old Norseskopa to scorn

Related forms

scoffer, noun

scoffingly, adverb

Synonyms

1. gibe. Scoff,jeer,sneer imply behaving with scornful disapproval toward someone or about something. To scoff is to express insolent doubt or derision, openly and emphatically: to scoff at a new invention. To jeer suggests expressing disapproval and scorn more loudly, coarsely, and unintelligently than in scoffing: The crowd jeered when the batter struck out. To sneer is to show by facial expression or tone of voice ill-natured contempt or disparagement: He sneered unpleasantly in referring to his opponent's misfortunes.

scoff

[or-igin uncertain; perhaps fr Afrikaans schoft, defined in a 1600s dictionary as ''eating time for labourers or workmen foure times a day''; perhaps fr British dialect scaff; South African use in current senses is attested in late 1700s]

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.Cite This Source